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Hi all, I'm sorry I haven't been on the forum for a long while now. With school, work, flying, and a pregnant wife, I don't get very much free time. Now that the semester is over hopefully I can frequent the forums more than not. Toku is doing good, his tank is pretty much bare now. He doesn't like fake plants and just keeps up rooting them. The guppies' population disappeared almost over night, I'd say a little over two months ago. I didn't get anymore, but the algae eaters (4 total) all survived and those are the only fish in the tank now. The snails started showing up again and now speckle the tank. I like having them in there so their not a problem. The extra lighting really looks awesome and lights the whole tank and room. The algae on the logs is in full bloom and adds a cool effect to the wood. I should take a pic of the tank. I ordered a Mega-Ray finally, it should be here tomorrow. We got some snow so it might be delayed a day. I'm very interested and curious of what kind of readings I'm gonna get with this bulb. I will post the reading when I get a chance. I remember someone on here ordered a mega-ray. Do you like the lighting and UVB from the bulb? I got an 100 watt. Anyhow, I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and are staying warm on the snowing day for all you back east. Oh and awesomeness on the Facebook page, I liked it;)

That was me.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35269

I don't have any lux readings, I haven't taken a UVB with the 6.2 since mid-November. I'll grab one when I do the water chane this afternoon.

Awesome, Thanks ljapa

I cleaned one of the FX5s today and took some readings from the PowerSun. As expected the UVB is very low.

100w Powersun the bulb is only 5 mos. old, it was installed the first week of July 2013.
Bulb face is 13.5” from the Basking surface. Basking surface is driftwood.
Basking surface temp 99.1 degrees Fahrenheit
UVB reading @ 11” – 29µW/cm2
LUX reading @ 12" - 6,600 LUX
As you can see the UVB is super low. I expect a big improvement with the Mega-Ray. I also believe the Mega-Ray will have better LUX readings. I will take measurements when I install it and post them when I have the time. Toku seems to be doing good with the PowerSun he sheds scutes sporadically. Although I see a couple retained scutes. I read ljapa's thread and I believe the UVB has something to do with shedding. ljapa, how is the shell looking now with the change to the Mega-Ray?

A few pics of the tank and occupants....

I put the MegaRay in two months ago today. I have the 160 watt. It's installed 21.5" above the basking platform. The solarmeter 6.2 UVB reading is taken with it resting on the basking platform, so that puts the reading at 17.5".

Basking surface temp 103 degrees Fahrenheit
UVB reading @ 17.5” – 119 µW/cm2

Tobi still hasn't shed. The shell would get algae on it, which I'd brush with a toothbrush. The only change I've noticed is that the algae issue is almost gone, and the shell itself seems clearer. But nothing on the shedding front.

Hmmmm, I wonder about the shedding? I think I know what I'm gonna research this winter break. Thanks for the link to your thread, and for the updates. I talked to Bob at ReptileUV and it seems they have a steady supply of Mega-Rays now. I want to try the Metal-Halide EB bulb kit but they don't have any and apparently don't know when they will have them. The Mega-Ray will be a nice upgrade from the PowerSun. I might order the 160w when it is time for a new bulb. I like the idea of a wider gradient range and basking zone.

Thanks for the update ljapa. I really need to buy one!

slider_keeper wrote:Hmmmm, I wonder about the shedding? I think I know what I'm gonna research this winter break.

Let me know any insights. I know from looking at the wild RES around here that I rarely see retained scutes. I know they bask during the noon sun, when the UVB is much higher than I'm providing, but I also know that they neither get that level all day or every day.

I don't wonder of the using up of internal resources during brumation and then feeding with increasingly higher UVB helps a wild RES shed. Of course, I also don't really see any RES of Tobi's size up close. They are much more skittish.

Around here wild turtles bask pretty much from sun up to sundown. Spring summer or fall.

Yeah, Kansas I have witnessed sliders basking at 3:00PM in the summer heat and humidity of the southeast, 3:00pm is considered the hottest time of the day. ljapa, I'm curious about the connection of shedding and UVB.